|
|
|||
|
Leah
held Toby's hand tightly as she noted the greenness of the grass and the
freshness of the air. The park around her was alive with the sounds of children
frolicking on the playground equipment, lovers holding hands and talking betwixt
themselves, babies crying as loving mothers pushed them in their carriages while
speaking to their other friends. The park was rarely quiet, even in the
nighttime, and people of different natures passed across its lush, green grasses
frequently, flowing in and out like multi-colored fish in the waters of the Red
Sea. It
had been a week since Sarah's journey to the Underground and so far Toby had
shown no signs that he remembered anything about the adventure. After a
discussion with Sarah about the last part of her journey, Leah had tried to get
Toby to tell her what had gone on between the little boy and the Goblin King,
but she couldn't get him to recollect anything. Even
her memory of the incident was sketchy by now, but she wrote in her journal
about it each day to preserve all she could, as she knew Sarah was doing. Her
old and new friends lingered in her mind like the vestige of a deceased family
member, but something in her knew they were alive and well, seeking out their
destiny in their new environment, just as she was. She
pondered her transitory state as she walked Toby through the park,
absentmindedly answering his questions and making remarks as she did so. "Look,
Sarah!" he declared pointing to something in the park. Leah
did as bid and looked up from her mild contemplation to see a beautiful white
horse being groomed by its owner. The two siblings approached the magnificent
steed, hand in hand, and both brought forth trembling hands to caress its muzzle.
The owner smiled at them and allowed them to pet his animal. "I
rode a white horse like this once," Toby declared boldly to the man. "Did
you, son?" the man replied warmly. "Yeah,"
he answered sadly. "But I can't remember when." Leah
smiled down at Toby and said, “Sweetie, there are lotsa stories I gotta tell
you. All about white horses.” Toby
looked up at her oddly, and said, “Will you really?
No more stories about that Underground place?” “Toby,
I’ve got bunches of stories, now. Just
you wait and see, I will tell you so many stories...” “But,
you have to leave tomorrow.” She
picked him up and smiled at him. “Aw,
don’t worry about it. I’m
quitting my job. I got all the time
in the world.” “Really!?
Oh, yay, we can go to the fair!” “We’ll
go anywhere you want.” She smiled at him as she walked him across the park and
toward an ice cream stand. “You
know, you remind me of the babe.” Toby
looked confused. “What babe?” Leah
grinned at him impishly. “The babe with the power...” “What
power?” The little boy giggled at
her silliness. She
poked him in the tummy. “The power of voodoo...” “The
power of what?” She
promptly put him down and began to tickle him.
“Oh, you just up and spoiled my game, you little goblin, you!”
They rolled around in the grass, and wrestled as if there were no
tomorrow. *** Sarah
sat in the castle gardens, somewhere between Sage and a blooming rose-bush.
It was midday, and the breeze was cool and refreshing.
Perfection. “I
wonder where Jareth went,” Sarah said as she twirled a flower between her
fingers. “Do
not let it trouble you, my child. He
will surely find his way back into your life.
He has much to learn.” “Oh,
I am not troubled.” She played
with her hair in an air of nonchalance. “Yes,
you are.” Sage got up and began
to walk into the castle. “I
don’t think about it too much.” “Yes,
you do,” he said as he disappeared behind the hedges.
“And, I suppose you would also say that you do not love him...” Sarah
looked down at her hands and smiled knowingly.
“I wouldn’t say that...” she mumbled to herself.
“It is a new day, my dear Sage. A
new day...” With
a heavy sigh, she dropped the flower, and the wind sighed with her, taking the
flower away on the spring-time breeze. Completed:
9-12-94 1st
Revision completed: 2-19-97 2nd
Revision completed: 12-9-01 |
|||